Temporal Changes in Land Use, Vegetation, and Productivity in Southwest China

Abstract

In recent decades, vegetation coverage and land use/land cover (LULC) have constantly changed, especially in southwest China. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research into the temporal–spatial variation patterns of vegetation greening, LULC, and gross primary productivity (GPP). Here, we used remote sensing to analyze the spatial and temporal variation in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and GPP in the growing season under different LULCs in southwest China. Results showed: (1) From 2000–2019, the forest area in southwest China had increased by 2.1%, while the area of cropland and grassland had decreased by 3.2% and 5.5%, respectively. Furthermore, there are significant differences in spatial variation patterns. (2) NDVI and GPP in the growing season showed a general increasing trend (p < 0.01); vegetation coverage is dominated by high coverage to highest coverage and medium coverage to high coverage transfer. (3) Under different LULCs, the migration directions of NDVI and GPP were different. The center of gravity migration of highest and medium coverage shifted to the southeast by 1.69° and to the northwest by 1.81°, respectively. The results showed the ecosystem evolution and will help to guide the maintenance measure of ecosystem balance and sustainable development.

Assessment of the Impact of Population Reduction on Grasslands with a New “Tool”: A Case Study on the “Mountainous Banat” Area of Romania

“…According to the data from the literature, there are different methods and indicators of quantitative and qualitative assessment of the grasslands, specifically of their biodiversity and conservation state [90,91], grassland degradation [92,93], keeping in mind the classification of the grasslands [94], and intensity of land use [95], achieved by the application of some indexes and methods of remote sensing, GIS and photogrammetry [96][97][98][99], etc. In this research, the Grassland Anthropic Impact Index (GAII) was applied, which is an index that shows the potential use of the grasslands by the inhabitants of the area.…”

Association Analysis of the Spatial and Temporal Changes in Vegetation Photosynthesis Levels with Land Cover Changes in China Based on Solar-Induced Fluorescence

“…Therefore, the land use-vegetation photosynthesis level change association analysis method proposed in this study provides a new perspective and approach for studying the relationship between LCC and vegetation growth. The relationship between LCCs and vegetation photosynthesis level changes is a complex and nonlinear dynamic coupled relationship, and this relationship is a spatial co-occurrence relationship [67]. Our proposed method focuses on the interdependence and conditional priors between two systems, decomposes complex systems through information granulation, and finds the associations and relationships between changes in the two system types.…”